BIRTHDAYS

Recently I’ve written a lot about death and funerals. So it’s a pleasant change to talk instead about birthdays. Today I had brunch with my young Hungarian friend Szilard, who turned twenty-three today. Adam K was supposed to join us, but had a bad headache. So Rupert, Rose and I walked to the Castro and sat outside at Catch to celebrate Szilard’s day. He’s going to be moving to Las Vegas soon, so it was good to see him on a beautiful autumn day here in San Francisco. I had ordered a small chocolate cake from my favorite local French bakery, Tartine, on Guerrero & 18th.

When I was off work after my heart attack four years ago, I used to take Rose and Rupert for a walk over the hill to Tartine for a hot chocolate and fresh croissant. The walk was good. I’m not sure it was such a great idea to have a croissant every day.

Two weeks ago, we three R's --Rupert, Rose & I -- attended a champagne reception at Chris Wahlgren's house the week after his fortieth birthday. Chris is our friend who owns Nomad Rugs on 24th Street near Church. Dennis used to help out there after being let go from Lang's Estate Jewelry. And Chris is very dog friendly. I've never been to a party at his place without at least five or six dogs in attendance.

Yesterday was Herb Goodrich's birthday on 10/10 (the anniversary of the rebellion that started the Chinese Revolution in 1911. Sun Yat-sen was in San Francisco on the day, a little like Lenin's being in Switzerland at the beginning of the Russian Revolution. Leaders sometimes don't start world events, they just manage and manipulate them.) Herb is a good friend and Bohemian...a fine writer, composer and director. He wrote and conducted the wonderful score for last summer's Grove Play. I called him Friday and sent him a Jacquie Lawson online card.

Tomorrow Adam and I are going to my friend Dave Jones’ fiftieth birthday celebration at the Bohemian Club. Dennis and I went to his extraordinary wedding several years ago on September 1st (my parents’ wedding anniversary) at an estate in Carmel. We were put up in a fine hotel in Monterrey for several nights. It was a wonderful affair. Dave’s wife Lissa Morgenthaler-Jones, originally from Cincinnati, really knows how to throw a party.